It's about this time of year when you start seeing articles about indoor/outdoor living. Social media feeds and magazines are full of images of barefoot, sun-kissed people breezily bopping in and out of sun-drenched abodes. Most of these locations seem to be in sunny locales that rarely see a raindrop or whose temperatures only fluctuate slightly. Which makes me think that such a lifestyle is impossible around here. But is it really? Is it possible to have a bright, casual, truly indoor/outdoor lifestyle when our warm, sunny days are condensed into one short season (if we are lucky)? Let's explore some ways to bring this way of life up north of the 48th parallel.
Window Walls
NanaWalls is a name brand movable glass wall system that allow an entire length of wall to be glazed and openable. During the cooler months, this system mostly remains closed yet allows tons of sunlight to stream through. Being double or triple paned means that in winter, the insulating value remains high while still retaining a visual connection to the outdoors. When the weather warms, this system truly allows indoor/outdoor living by being able to open the entire wall. If you are in the position of planning a renovation and are looking for a way to bring the outdoors in, I would explore a system like this.
Skylights
While we are on the subject of renovations, this might be a good opportunity to include some skylights. There are many different types of skylights available today. One type that I have always dreamed of including in my own home is a ridge skylight. It's an expanse of glass that straddles the roof ridge on a home. This can absolutely flood a home with sunlight year round. And being able to look up to see the blue sky even in the depth of winter can have a huge psychological boost.
Showers
One trend I'm seeing a lot of lately is showers that either open to a private outdoor area or have exterior glass surrounded by secluded gardens. One practical aspect to this trend is being able to come in directly from a day of working in the garden and immediately shower without tracking dirt through the house. Additionally, a shower with an exterior glass wall allowing tons of light in is good for houseplants. And the added benefit of a hot, steamy environment means more tropical type plants can be grown. Tropical plants make it that much easier to imagine that you are living in paradise where indoor/outdoor living is the norm.
Sunrooms
If you have the luxury of being able to add on a sunroom to the southern facing part of your home, count yourself lucky. Soaking up the sun year round is possible in a set up like this. Historically, sunrooms were designed to help bring in as much natural light as possible. You may have heard of them referred to as solariums, four-season rooms, garden rooms, sun porches, or even patio rooms. Whatever you call them, sunrooms are a fun way to transform your home. Plus, they add to your home's value.
Conservatories
Raise your hand if your familiarity with this term came from the board game Clue. A conservatory usually refers to a space attached to a conventional building such as a house, and used as a greenhouse or sunroom. This is what has been consuming my design feeds lately. There is a growing movement (albeit mostly in Europe) of adding greenhouse additions to homes to increase livable square footage while being able to grow food and cleanse the air with a plethora of plants. In an ideal world, I would be pursuing this addition to my own home right now.
Are there any other ways to create an indoor/outdoor vibe around here? We'd love to hear your thoughts. As April showers lead to May flowers, I think we can all agree that summers in the PNW are unmatched. I know I am looking forward to those gloriously warm days when I too can breeze outside barefoot and sun-kissed.
